Troubled Waters
by NortheasternWind
Summary: A life-draining spring puts Angeal, Sephiroth and Genesis in a short but deadly encounter. Forget drowning, it's the other risk that has them on edge.
1. Chapter 1

**If I owned FFVII I'd be getting paid. Do try not to rip my ideas off, though, because that makes me alternately sad and very, very angry. Thanks!**

An idea that's been floating around in my head for a while and turned out decent on paper. (Which seems to be an accurate description for everything that comes out of my head, actually XD) It was originally going to be a long(ish) oneshot, but I eventually just decided to put it up as I finished with it. Because I know if I stick to that original plan, it'll never get posted.

Due to its shortness I was going to revise it further, and actually sat around in bed thinking "Aw man, I know how to make that part way better"-- but naturally I forgot all this the moment I fell asleep. Bleh.

Do enjoy it anyway! Gratuitously long author's notes end here.

---

Mako pools. How Sephiroth hated them.

In Midgar's wastelands, one could occasionally find a mako pool lying around, often hidden completely from sight. Unlike what its name suggested, the pools were filled with perfectly normal water, the only difference being that in a mako pool the water was saturated with mako from the Lifestream. Merely standing next to a pool would drain one's energy, and those who fell in came out with severe mako poisoning-- unable to speak, unable to remember why they were there in the first place.

In Sephiroth's opinion, this was sacrilege. He was not looking forward to the "afterlife"; souls were assimilated into the Lifestream, stripped of their individuality. That was hardly what he would call peace. One's memories were the single greatest determinant of one's identity, and Sephiroth refused to part with them. To him, mako pools were Hell on earth and he stayed well away from them. Everyone stayed well away from them. Who in their right mind wouldn't?

For a long time afterwards, Sephiroth could not clearly remember much of the one time he'd been forced to make an exception to this general rule. He, Angeal and Genesis were teenagers, that much he knew. But the other details, such as where exactly they were, _why_ they were there, why Genesis _wasn't_ there, and how Angeal had fallen in were lost to him. He could recall only the horror and gripping fear at the realization, and the underlying panic. Mako poisoning was the very last disease Sephiroth wanted to be caught with, and a swim in a mako pool would definitely earn him a case of it.

But Angeal had already gone under. _Angeal_ was down there, and if Sephiroth didn't dive in and get him _right now_ his friend's memories and possibly his life were forfeit. It should have been an easy decision to make. But what would happen to Sephiroth, he'd wondered? It was possible that he would not even be able to find Angeal in the water, swirling with mako. What would he do then? They'd both be lost, drowned or stripped of consciousness completely, and then what? Genesis, what would he do? Would he end up telling Gillian of her son's fate while he was still dealing with it himself? Sephiroth could barely stand the thought.

Something Sephiroth overheard the redhead telling a younger soldier swam into his mind. 

_Scared, nervous? Do it before you think._

Which was absolutely ridiculous. It was not possible to do something without thinking about it first. It was not wise to try something without thinking, either, besides that which had become second nature by way of training. And it was too late, Sephiroth was already thinking about it. Do it before you think? That wasn't something Sephiroth could do. His mind just didn't work that way.

Of course, with each precious second ticking away fast and a precious life on the line, the teenage Sephiroth decided to try. Forcing every thought away and taking a deep breath, he jumped in.

The experience must have lived up to his expectations, as his next memory was of breaking the surface with Angeal in tow. The life-absorbing water had done its work; he was exhausted, his mind was blank, and Angeal was unconscious. At least Sephiroth could feel the older soldier's breath on his neck. He splashed his way to the edge of the pool and heaved his friend onto solid ground, moving to lift his legs out of the water completely. The water level was half a foot below the ground, and somehow this task felt much more difficult than it should have. With Angeal safe, Sephiroth reached up to pull himself out.

But the strength he'd used to save Angeal was gone. His waterlogged clothes weighed him down, his arms felt like lead, and he could've sworn there was something more than just gravity sucking him down into the deadly liquid. Like a heavy weight, dragging down his consciousness. He couldn't move.

The last thing he remembered was letting go of the edge and plunging into the water, and darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for the delay-- the last scene gave me so much trouble that I decided I'd just write it and revise it later. And I lost part of the first draft. Geez, one minute it's getting in my way and the next I can't find it.

Anyway, as such, this chapter has the lamest ending ever. And indeed, the entire second half is lame, but I wanted to get it up.

And I know someone who has actually had the wrist thing happen to her. And it was her dominant wrist, too.

Enjoy!

* * *

A horrible feeling was eating Genesis from the inside.

Genesis's duties for the day were all but finished, leaving little else to do but wait for Angeal and Sephiroth's return. Ever the restless one, the past half hour had been spent pacing-- he found that his nerves had made him nearly illiterate, to his dismay. He had never been able to sit still very long without a book in his hands, but it was more than boredom this time; Genesis was worried.

Which wasn't really very logical, he thought. It wasn't as though they were doing anything particularly dangerous. They were simply…

…

Actually, now that he thought about it, he could not remember what they said they were supposed to be doing. That was probably what was making him so jumpy.

_My memory chooses the strangest times to fail me._

Anyway, that was why Genesis was in the SOLDIER garage, picking out a motorcycle to hop on to.

The bike's satisfying roar as it came to life filled Genesis with the usual feeling of exhilaration-- as though such a sensation could have the word "usual" tacked on to the beginning. Now, as he sped down the streets trusting his vehicle's signature roar to clear the path of pedestrians for him, Genesis chastised himself for not paying more attention to his friends, and feeling so irrationally worried over their safety. There was hardly any reason to be concerned, when they were both more than capable of taking care of themselves even if they were dealing with something potentially dangerous.

Except, he thought to himself, when it came to getting necessary medical attention. Sephiroth was extremely adverse to going to the infirmary for his injuries, probably because of Hojo's presence. Genesis could hardly blame him, but sometimes his defiance bordered on unreasonable. Once, about a year ago, Sephiroth had fractured his right arm and managed to hide it until Genesis had playfully punched him in the offending spot. Angeal's disapproval had been nothing to speak of.

Actually, with a pain threshold like his, Genesis wondered sometimes if Sephiroth genuinely thought most of his injuries weren't a problem. He'd once sprained his wrist-- his _left_ wrist-- in his sleep, and somehow failed to notice until Angeal pointed out the swelling. Needless to say, once it was seen to, the three of them had found the matter hilarious.

Finally free of the city, Genesis kicked the bike into full gear with a grin. Wind sailed past his ears at a deafening howl, and the landscape shot past his eyes faster than he could follow it. Figuratively, of course, as otherwise he'd have issues trying to navigate. Angeal didn't care for the dangerous vehicle and while Genesis knew Sephiroth liked them as much as he did, his hair got in the way. Sephiroth would not cut his hair just to ride a motorcycle, so Genesis was usually the only one to be found riding the things.

Except when Sephiroth decided to throw safety out the window in favor of a high speed race. Perhaps it was selfish, but Genesis wished he'd do that more often.

The redhead rode to a high point among the cliffs for a vantage point. If Angeal and Sephiroth had been leaving the area, Genesis would definitely have remembered, so he searched the wasteland for his friends' Jeep. It would probably be the same color as its surroundings… How frustrating.

But the frustration blew away as luck favored him, and his eyes fell upon a tan Jeep hiding the shadow of a concealed valley. Once again, the feeling of unease returned, but now he knew why.

Hadn't Angeal said there was a mako pool around that area?

Genesis revved up the engine and shot right off the cliff, landing unscratched on the ground below.

Surely Angeal and Sephiroth would stay away from those things. They knew, probably better than he did, how dangerous they were, and he could think of absolutely no reason why they'd be given a mission involving one. Even monsters avoided the cursed places. Genesis allowed himself to believe that it was not his friends' Jeep he was speeding towards.

* * *

Unfortunately, that was not to be.

"Angeal!"

The sight of his childhood friend lying limply at the water's edge sent fresh hysteria pumping through Genesis's veins. He was off the motorcycle and at Angeal's side before the bike had even stopped moving.

"Angeal." The stupid water was already giving him a headache. How much worse was Angeal? Genesis put an arm under each of his friend's shoulders and dragged him to a safe distance. "Wake up, Angeal."

The redhead gave Angeal a light slap on the cheek. His breathing was steady-- an immense relief-- but Genesis wanted to hear his voice, to know that _Angeal_ was still in there.

"You fell in, you… dork." Genesis noted, eyeing his still wet clothes. "And the Buster Sword is still strapped to your back. You better wake up and wipe it off before it rusts, my friend."

Maybe it was just his imagination, but Angeal's expression seemed to change to one of disdain.

"Wouldn't want that, would we?" Genesis said, feeling better. "Come on, up, before Sephiroth and I--

"…

"Before Sephiroth…"

Where _was_ Sephiroth?

Genesis's eyes swept his surroundings one more time, and spotted a black longcoat and sword lying sadly at the edge of the pool, far enough down the bank that he hadn't noticed it before. Angeal had not pulled himself out of the water.

He stared at the coat for a long second before throwing off his own. There was no time to be worrying over what would happen if he needed rescuing. Upon making his way to the side of the pool, the deadly waters sent a wave of dizziness through him before he'd even gone in. He slapped himself in the face, only to find that his usually clear vision did not return afterwards. This was going to be harder than he thought.

…Not that he'd thought about it first, but that was off topic.

_Humans float_, he thought, shaking his head to rid it of that irritating buzzing that had chosen to set up residence. _Usually. Things involving mako have a tendency to ignore physics, and--_

_Off topic. Focus._

Genesis dived into the water without another thought.

By the time he opened his eyes beneath the surface he was unsure whether the blow had knocked all the air out of him or if he had simply forgotten to hold his breath, but he instantly found himself low on oxygen. His thoughts degraded into general ideas and emotions rather than words, and he would probably have forgotten why he was in the water in the first place if he had not landed himself right next to an unconscious Sephiroth.

Something akin to joy swept through him, along with a vague idea revolving around the concept of physics. He grabbed the unconscious soldier by an arm and lifted him to the surface. Air never smelled so sweet.

_Get away from the water. _That was his first thought. Like an obedient servant, his body immediately set to the task of throwing his friend unceremoniously onto solid ground, and lifting himself up-- which proved to be a difficult task. His strength was all but gone, and the more he tried the more his arms hurt. Eventually, he managed it by swinging his legs over the edge and rolling to safety.

Except now he just wanted to lie there and sleep. What was _in_ that water? Gods, he was so _tired…_

_No! Get away from the water!_

Funny, how his mind worked sometimes. Groaning, Genesis pulled himself upright and waited for the vertigo to pass-- which it never did, as he was still sitting not five feet from the mako pool. His body knew it better than he did, rising shakily to its feet. He and his friend were collapsing at Angeal's side before Genesis even got his sight back. The dizziness finally subsided somewhat, and his thoughts returned.

It cannot be this easy.

How long had Sephiroth been in there…? It must have been forever. Genesis had not been in there very long-- at least, he was quite sure he hadn't-- but he was out of breath. He checked the other soldier's pulse.

Nothing.

Physically and emotionally drained, Genesis could only sit there with his fingers pressed against Sephiroth's neck, mind swirling. After all his worrying, and diving in to save him, Genesis had been too late.

_He… He was probably dead before I got here. _Genesis told himself jadedly, slapping Sephiroth as he had done to Angeal earlier in a vain attempt to wake him. _And even if I'd come earlier, he'd probably have mako poisoning…_

_You fool… Why didn't you call for help?_

Though Genesis knew why. Because help wouldn't arrive in time, because every second wasted was a memory lost, because he was too proud not to attempt to save Angeal himself first… And perhaps he though-- he knew that if it had been Sephiroth in danger and Angeal forced to sacrifice himself, Genesis would be angry at his carelessness and bitter over the loss of his dearest friend. The thought nearly brought tears to his eyes.

_And because you believed Angeal deserved it more…_

And Genesis agreed. But that only intensified the sorrow-- and the guilt.

What if he had come earlier? What if he'd remembered? Would Sephiroth be lying here, lifeless, having risked himself to save Angeal? Maybe Genesis could have helped him out before the water sapped his life away. They could be driving back to Midgar right now.

Heck, what about Angeal? Of course he'd blame himself, if he was the reason Sephiroth had jumped into the water in the first place. If he hadn't fallen in-- or however he'd gotten into the pool, it didn't matter now-- there would have been no need for any of this.

But it wasn't Angeal's fault. It was his fault, for being an irresponsible friend, and Sephiroth's fault, for failing to save himself. Sephiroth was supposed to be the strongest! How in the world had he managed to rescue Angeal and not himself? Genesis had managed it with… immense amount of trouble, admittedly, but he'd done it. If Sephiroth had been so determined to save Angeal, he could at least do each of them a favor and not give them any reason to feel like garbage when he woke up.

Forget what he thought earlier. Angeal's clothes had still been wet when Genesis arrived, and he was going to believe that Sephiroth had not been dead long.

He'd never imagined he'd have to give CPR. He found the concept understandably awkward. The compressions he could do, but mouth to mouth with a stranger was not something he would agree to lightly.

Of course, this was not a stranger. This was Sephiroth.

"Breathe, fool." he growled, forcing the artificial respiration into his friend's lungs for the fourth time. It was becoming less of a task than a repeating motion meant to keep Genesis awake. "Where's your pride? Breathe!"

Finally, a cough and a gasp brought Genesis out of his trance. As if on cue, Sephiroth's lungs had finally taken the hint and expelled the suffocating liquid from themselves, and he sputtered to life.

If he hadn't been so utterly drained, Genesis would have shouted with joy. As it was, he could only manage a sigh of relief, and flop onto his back with a smile. Ridden of the task binding it to consciousness and aching of fatigue, his body chose that moment to collapse into an exhausted, dreamless slumber.


End file.
